,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fegb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #aj1 #bjbe,mr4 ,harder of ,california 7for himself and ,mr4 ,obernolte7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,director of the ,national ,institutes of ,health to carry out a program1 to be known as the ,x-,labs ,initiative1 to support breakthrough biomedical research at innovative research institutions1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,launching ,x-,labs for ,breakthrough ,science ,act4 #b4 ,,nih institutional awards for breakthrough biomedical research ,part ,a of title ,,iv of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bha et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #djd,p4 ,,nih institutional awards for breakthrough biomedical research 7a7 ,in general ,the ,director of ,,nih shall establish a program1 to be known as the ,x-,labs ,initiative1 to provide long-term institutional awards to eligible entities in accordance with the requirements of this section4 7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of the program shall be-- 7#a7 to enable and catalyze innovative research institutions to conduct breakthrough biomedical research2 and 7#b7 to assist such institutions in the acquisition of ,r,d plant1 as necessary1 to complete such research4 7c7 ,institutional awards 7#a7 ,in general ,in carrying out the program1 the ,director of ,,nih shall1 acting directly or through the head of an ,,nih institute or center1 make institutional awards to eligible entities on a competitive basis4 7#b7 ,,xlseries activity code ,the ,director of ,,nih shall designate the ,,xlseries as a distinct ,,nih activity code available to all ,,nih institutes and centers making institutional awards under the program4 7#c7 ,categories ,an institutional award under the program shall be made within one of the following categories3 7,a7 ,,xl#ja funding ,awards of ,,xl#ja funding to support basic science research institutions whose principal activities1 or proposed principal activities1 are directed toward advancing foundational scientific discovery4 ,the purpose of such awards shall be to provide such institutions stable1 long-term funding and minimal budgetary reprogramming requirements4 7,b7 ,,xl#jb funding ,awards of ,,xl#jb funding to support science institutions whose principal activities1 or proposed principal activities1 are directed toward developing new scientific resources1 including datasets or measurement tools or techniques1 with deliverables that are clearly defined at the beginning of the award4 7,c7 ,,xl#jc funding ,awards of ,,xl#jc funding to support nonprofit institutions that award focused research organizations1 individual researchers1 or research collaborations or centers funds to conduct breakthrough biomedical research4 7,d7 ,,xl#jd funding ,awards of ,,xl#jd funding to support the formation and planning of new scientific institutions that will be eligible for ,,xl#ja1 ,,xl#jb1 or ,,xl#jc funding4 7#d7 ,special rules applicable to ,,xl#jc funding 7,a7 ,regrants ,an eligible entity that receives an award of ,,xl#jc funding described in paragraph 7#c77;,c7 shall1 subject to the terms of the award1 make regrants using funds from the award to support research teams1 early-stage projects1 or innovative scientific initiatives consistent with the purposes of this section4 ,such teams1 projects1 and initiatives shall be located in the ,united ,states4 7,b7 ,requirements ,an eligible entity that receives an award of ,,xl#jc funding described in paragraph 7#c77;,c7-- 7i7 shall use such funding to provide assistance1 through regrants described in subparagraph 7,a71 to organizations 7in this section referred to as regrant recipients7 that the eligible entity determines are unlikely to receive support through traditional ,,nih grants despite the breakthrough potential of the research to be conducted by the regrant recipient2 7ii7 shall use innovative methods to identify1 fund1 and evaluate the research to be conducted using such assistance2 and 7iii7 not later than one year after the date on which the eligible entity provides such assistance to a regrant recipient1 shall make available to the public a summary of the method by which the eligible entity identified1 funded1 and plans to evaluate the regrant recipient4 7#e7 ,amounts 7,a7 ,,xl#ja1 ,,xl#jb1 and ,,xl#jc funding 7i7 ,in general ,the ,director of ,,nih shall structure an award of ,,xl#ja1 ,,xl#jb1 or ,,xl#jc funding such that the award totals not less than #e1jjj1jjj and not more than #ej1jjj1jjj per fiscal year for a period of #g consecutive fiscal years4 ,the amount of such an award shall be determined based on institutional scope1 scientific ambition1 and programmatic needs4 7ii7 ,renewals ,the ,director of ,,nih may renew an award described in clause 7i7 for not more than one additional period of #g consecutive fiscal years1 subject to-- 7,i7 a competitive review of institutional performance and scientific impact over the previous period2 7,,ii7 the availability of appropriations2 and 7,,iii7 a programmatic cap on the proportion of institutional awards eligible for renewal1 to be determined by the ,director of ,,nih1 to ensure regular entry of new institutions into the program4 7,b7 ,,xl#jd funding 7i7 ,in general ,the ,director of ,,nih shall structure an award of ,,xl#jd funding such that the award totals not less than #a1jjj1jjj and not more than #e1jjj1jjj per fiscal year for a period of #a1 #b1 or #c consecutive fiscal years1 as determined by the ,director of ,,nih4 7ii7 ,prohibition on renewals ,the ,director of ,,nih may not renew an award described in clause 7i74 7#f7 ,applications ,an eligible entity seeking an award under the program shall submit to the ,director of ,,nih an application at such time1 in such form1 and containing such information as the ,director of ,,nih may require4 7#g7 ,maintaining eligibility ,to remain eligible for an institutional award under the program and remain in good standing with respect to an award1 an eligible entity shall not compete for or receive any other ,federal research funding in the form of a research grant1 excluding a training grant1 during the award period of the entity for ,,xl#ja1 ,,xl#jb1 or ,,xl#jc funding4 7#h7 ,early termination or suspension 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,director of ,,nih may terminate or suspend an award made to an award recipient under this section prior to the expiration of the applicable period of the award described in paragraph 7#e7 if the ,director determines that the award recipient-- 7i7 is not meeting the deliverables referred to in paragraph 7#c77;,b71 if applicable2 7ii7 is no longer an eligible entity2 or 7iii7 is otherwise failing to comply with the terms and conditions of the award4 7,b7 ,revocation of funds2 reallocation ,upon a determination to terminate or suspend an award under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,director of ,,nih may revoke any remaining funds from the award and reallocate such funds to new awards under this section4 7d7 ,administration 7#a7 ,in general ,the program shall be administered by the ,director of ,,nih1 in coordination with the heads of relevant institutes and centers4 7#b7 ,institute participation ,any institute or center within the ,national ,institutes of ,health may utilize the program to fund institutions within their areas of scientific focus1 subject to coordination with the ,director of ,,nih and the availability of funds4 7#c7 ,other transactions authorities ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,director of ,,nih may use the authorities available under section #djb7n77#a7 or other applicable transactions authorities to carry out this section4 7e7 ,reporting requirements 7#a7 ,initial reports ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for #b additional years1 the ,director of ,,nih shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report describing-- 7,a7 the progress made in establishing the program1 including the development of application processes1 review criteria1 and award categories2 7,b7 the number and types of applications received under the program2 7,c7 the number1 type1 and amount of awards made under the program2 and 7,d7 any challenges or barriers encountered in the implementation of the program4 7#b7 ,periodic evaluation ,not later than #e years after the date of the first award under the program1 and once every #e years thereafter during the term of the program1 the ,director of ,,nih shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report evaluating-- 7,a7 the scientific impact and outcomes of institutions receiving support under the program2 7,b7 the effectiveness of the program in advancing the purposes described in subsection 7b72 7,c7 lessons learned from implementation of the program and recommendations for program improvement2 and 7,d7 the extent to which the program has reduced administrative burden and enabled research that is high-risk and high-reward4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate committees of ,congress ,the term appropriate committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,basic science research institution ,the term basic science research institution means a research institution conducting systematic study directed toward greater understanding of fundamental principles or phenomena of nature without specific applications in mind4 7#c7 ,breakthrough biomedical research ,the term breakthrough biomedical research means scientific research that has the potential to create substantial1 field-defining advances in knowledge1 methods1 or technologies that enable significant improvements in human health or scientific capability4 7#d7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means-- 7,a7 a nonprofit research organization2 7,b7 an institution of higher education1 as defined in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife2 7,c7 a for-profit entity with nonprofit subsidiaries dedicated to scientific research2 7,d7 an individual with plans to establish a nonprofit research organization2 or 7,e7 any other research organization that the ,director of ,,nih determines appropriate4 7#e7 ,focused research organization ,the term focused research organization means a time-limited1 goal-oriented nonprofit entity that concentrates resources and talent on achieving a defined scientific or technological objective not sufficiently pursued within existing academic1 corporate1 or government structures4 7#f7 ,foundational scientific discovery ,the term foundational scientific discovery means research that produces broadly enabling scientific knowledge1 methods1 or tools that support subsequent applied or translational advances4 7#g7 ,institutional award2 award ,the term institutional award or award means an award of funding made under the program4 7#h7 ,institutional scope ,the term institutional scope means the size and organizational capacity of an institution to undertake research activities1 including the breadth of its scientific research1 number of personnel supported1 and physical research infrastructure relevant to the proposed award4 7#i7 ,,nih ,the term ,,nih means the ,national ,institutes of ,health4 7#aj7 ,nonprofit research organization ,the term nonprofit research organization means a domestic public or private organization exempt from taxation under section #eja7;c77#c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf that conducts or supports scientific research as a primary purpose4 7#aa7 ,program ,the term program means the program authorized under subsection 7a74 7#ab7 ,programmatic needs ,the term programmatic needs means the degree to which an award would advance the strategic research priorities and unmet needs of ,,nih and its institutes and centers1 as determined by the ,director of ,,nih4 7#ac7 ,r,d plant ,the term ,r,d plant means fixed assets used primarily for research and development1 including the construction1 expansion1 leasing1 or modernization of research facilities and the acquisition of major movable research equipment4 7#ad7 ,regrant ,the term regrant means the provision of a subaward or other financial assistance by an award recipient under the program to carry out research activities consistent with the purposes of the original award4 7#ae7 ,scientific ambition ,the term scientific ambition means the scale1 novelty1 and transformative potential of an institution's proposed research agenda under an award1 as measured by the significance of the scientific questions addressed and the potential to advance fundamental or translational understanding4 7#af7 ,united ,states ,the term ,united ,states means the ,states and the ,district of ,columbia4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years #bjbf through #bjca4 4